DATE OF BIRTH: 21 February 1940, Willesden, Brent, North-West London.
BRITISH CAREER: (1962) Leicester; (1963) Hackney; (1964-68) West Ham; (1969-71) Wolverhampton; (1972) Wolverhampton, Swindon; (1973-76) Swindon.
CAREER RECORD WITH SWINDON: Meetings: 191 (128 League; 15 Knock-Out Cup; 1 Inter-League Knock-Out Cup; 1 Britannia Shield; 18 Midland Cup; 20 Challenge; 7 Four-Team Tournament; 1 Five-Team Tournament) Rides: 736Â Â Points: 1,056 Bonus: 110 Total: 1,166 Average: 6.34Â Â Maximums: 3 (3 full)
CLUB DEBUT: 25 April 1964 versus Wimbledon (Home) Britannia Shield; 6+3 points (4 rides).
NORMAN FREDERICK HUNTER was one of those special riders who could be described as a natural. During the winter months of 1961/62, he cut his teeth at Rye House and the Hoddesdon circuit had the honour of starting the 1962 speedway season in the UK with an individual trophy meeting, on 25 March.
The event was won by former Rye House Southern Area League rider Jim Heard. However, the most remarkable thing about the meeting was that it marked the sensational debut of one of the winter training school products, namely Hunter. He had only been practising for four months, yet scored 11 points and finished in third position overall.
After such an incredible debut, he was signed by Provincial League Leicester, having been spotted by Ron Wilson who, at the time, was busy looking for riders to augment his side. So, Norman became a Hunter, so to speak, and from day one it was obvious he was a rider of great potential. Regrettably, the bold experiment of promoter Mike Parker to introduce Provincial League racing at the Blackbird Road venue failed, with the only shining light in a poor season being the form of the Willesden-born youngster, who remarkably topped the side's scoring with 189 race points.
Leicester closed to league racing at the end of that campaign and, in 1963, Norman was posted to Hackney, a track that the self-same Mr. Parker was re-opening to the shale sport. In a repeat performance, Hunter again headed his new team's scoring, increasing his league tally to 229 points and it would be fair to say that the world was his oyster.
The Provincial League rode outside the jurisdiction of the Control Board in 1964, but Norman had no intention of competing under such circumstances and instead linked with West Ham in the National League. It was a courageous decision and although the higher sphere of racing proved tough, he determinedly stuck to his task to record 58 points. During the year, he also sported the red and white body colours of Swindon for the first time, scoring 6+3 points when appearing as a guest against Wimbledon in a Britannia Shield match at Blunsdon on 25 April.
Thankfully, peace broke out as the National and Provincial Leagues came together to form the British League in 1965, and the Hammers enjoyed a tremendous year, culminating in Championship glory. Hunter played a full part in that success, too, recording 300 points and a wonderful 9.54 average, as he formed a particularly potent attack alongside Ken McKinlay and Sverre Harrfeldt.
West Ham was to remain Norman's club through to the end of 1968, during which time the points continued to flow in large quantities. He then moved to Wolverhampton in 1969, and was riding even better than ever when a grass-track accident at Prestatyn unfortunately left him nursing a broken leg and wrist. That brought his season to a swift conclusion after just fourteen league matches, from which 162 points had yielded a massive 10.44 average.
Hunter returned to the Wolves side at the beginning of 1970, although the injuries of the previous year had understandably taken the edge off his racing. He remained with the West Midlands outfit until part-way through the 1972 campaign, when he requested a transfer and made it clear he wished to ride for Swindon. There was the usual haggling when a rider wanted a move, but Norman was backed by the Speedway Riders' Association and eventually got his way.
Having not enjoyed any active racing for nearly two months whilst his move was ironed out, he was somewhat rusty when he at last turned a wheel for his new team on 29 July, yet still managed to record 4 points in a home Midland Cup tie against Oxford. He quickly settled in, showing flashes of his pre-injury form and, by the end of the year, had ridden in thirteen league fixtures for the Robins, adding much-needed backbone to the side in scoring 69 points for a 6.08 average.
The 1973 season was a good one for Norman, as he showed a real zest for racing and produced a string of useful scores. Several times, he got close to a maximum and finally, on 7 July, in a home league match versus Coventry, he got the lot from four starts. Over the year, he provided great backing to the efforts of Swindon No. 1 Martin Ashby, with his sterling work adding up to a total of 240 points and an increased league average of 7.02.
The Robins celebrated their 25th Anniversary in 1974, and although Hunter's league figure dipped slightly to 6.49, he still made a more than useful contribution to finish third in the side's end-of-term statistics. The following term, he was generally consistent at Blunsdon, but tended to struggle somewhat on his travels and this was reflected in a final league average of 5.24.
The Londoner again lined-up for the Robins in 1976, but confessed that business interests were taking up more and more of his time. On 21 August, Swindon entertained Wolverhampton in a Midland Cup meeting and Norman was replaced in the starting line-up by Geoff Bouchard. It was subsequently announced that he had taken over the Norton Villiers Triumph agency for Leicester, and his work rate was such that he had had to hang up his leathers with immediate effect.
It was indeed wonderful to see Norman back at the Abbey Stadium on 31 August 2006, when he became the twelfth former rider to be inducted into the Legends' Lounge. Â
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DATE OF BIRTH: 21 February 1940, Willesden, Brent, North-West London.
West Ham was to remain Norman's club through to the end of 1968, during which time the points continued to flow in large quantities. He then moved to Wolverhampton in 1969, and was riding even better than ever when a grass-track accident at Prestatyn unfortunately left him nursing a broken leg and wrist. That brought his season to a swift conclusion after just fourteen league matches, from which 162 points had yielded a massive 10.44 average.
The Robins celebrated their 25th Anniversary in 1974, and although Hunter's league figure dipped slightly to 6.49, he still made a more than useful contribution to finish third in the side's end-of-term statistics. The following term, he was generally consistent at Blunsdon, but tended to struggle somewhat on his travels and this was reflected in a final league average of 5.24.
